Ed Royce

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I will not take 60 minutes in order to lay out my argument for the importance of a stimulus package, but I did want to take a few minutes in order to explain to the Members of this body and to the people of the Nation that the attacks on September 11 were also an attack on our economy. It hit our economy hard. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, they do a report, and they found that the U.S. economy constricted in the third quarter after that attack by .4 percent. That is the biggest constriction of economic output in more than a decade. In addition to that, household consumption grew hardly at all and business investment plummeted as a consequence, and most of the data before the September 11 attacks and the fourth quarter could prove to be quite a challenge for the United States unless preventive and decisive action is taken now by this body of Congress. Congress needs to pass legislation to stimulate the U.S. economy, and it needs to address the issue of providing needed help for those displaced workers who have frankly lost their jobs as a result of this economic contraction. How many Americans have lost their jobs? The latest estimate was 800,000. Eight hundred thousand Americans have lost their jobs since President Bush called for an economic stimulus package, and we heeded that call on the House of Representatives side. We passed an economic stimulus bill quickly over to the Senate in order to promote job creation, in order to help displaced workers, and since that time, the other body has failed to act. According to the Council of Economic Advisers, the bipartisan framework that we are trying to push for the stimulus bill would save 300,000 American jobs that otherwise would be lost. For months important legislation, however, over in the Senate has been stalled. It has been delayed. It has been sidetracked. The holidays are upon us now; time is running out. A majority of the Senate, frankly, is on record saying that they support the President's bipartisan framework for job creation and displaced worker assistance, but it is time for the Senate leadership to act. There have been some new concessions last week from the White House, and I think that indicates that President Bush is willing to go a long way in compromising with the Senate, and the reason he is willing to do that I believe is because he wants to help our economy. In the meantime, what is the Senate leadership doing? There on the other side of this building we see a push for simply more and more spending. Earlier this week the President proposed to break through the logjam over the economic stimulus bill. Key elements of the bipartisan framework proposed by the President include the following: tax cuts for low- and middle-income workers; providing tax rebate payment of up to $600 to low-income families struggling to make ends meet; lowering the 27 percent tax rate to 25 percent because that would provide 36 million hard-working American taxpayers with tax relief, and that would create more economic activity. Lowering the 27 percent tax rate, as a matter of fact, would provide relief to 10 million small business owners, and that would help in business expansion. Allowing all businesses to immediately deduct 30 percent of the cost of new investments for 3 years, in other words, speeding up that depreciation that businesses are able to take if they buy new equipment, well, that significantly reduces the cost of new business investment. It creates a climate where businesses go out and purchase new equipment. So particularly in capital-intensive sectors such as in manufacturing and in telecommunications, this provision is very important. So we have in that bill a lot of provisions that would create economic activity, would create jobs. At the same time, the bill has relief for displaced workers. It provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment assistance to workers who have been laid off since the recession began last March. These extended benefits would be financed completely by the Federal Government, and the Federal Government basically would turn over to the States $4 billion in Federal aid to expand benefits to additional displaced workers such as part-time workers, and it would provide $3 billion in national emergency grants. Because they would go through an existing program, these funds would be available immediately to help workers. It would be done in a matter of weeks, if we could get the Senate leadership to move this bill. Helping unemployed workers keep their health insurance by providing an innovative new tax credit up to $3,500 a year would also be helpful. Workers would be able to keep their health insurance regardless of whether or not they have COBRA under the bill. And the bill would be speeding relief to workers by cutting red tape. Unlike some proposals considered by the Senate, the President's framework does not require State legislation or State matching funds to provide coverage. So as a consequence of that, the assistance gets rapidly to those who need it most. Investment and consumption must be reinvigorated through these types of actions to provide some tax relief; and it is not through indiscriminate government spending increases, as some of the Senate leadership have been pushing for, that we will find a way to provide the economic stimulus for the economy. As President Bush noted, the best way to stimulate demand is to give people some money so they can spend it. So let us start putting more money back into the taxpayers' wallets. I would make the observation that this House of Representatives has done its job, and that the other body should do the same. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), who has joined me here today in order to try to call attention for the need for the stimulus bill to be passed out of the Senate, and for us to reach an agreement and to get that agreement to the President's desk soon.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman is probably right, history does record when there are incentives for job creation in the private sector, that is when real jobs are created. One of the provisions in the House bill that we passed over to the Senate was one that would allow when small business entrepreneurs buy new equipment, to take your example, the restaurateur, if he expands and puts in a new broiler, he would be able to deduct that expenditure more rapidly. He could depreciate that over 3 years. So as a consequence, there is an added incentive in this bill for business to go out and purchase equipment. That helps create more jobs in the manufacturing sector. We have been joined by the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson); and I yield to her, as well, so she can bring some attention to the issue that we are focused on tonight, which is what we can do to help move this stimulus bill and try to get it on the President's desk, and why it is important to get the economy moving.

Mr. ROYCE. Reclaiming my time, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) for his observations on the need to get this economy moving again and what we should do to take decisive action and get it to the President's desk.

Mr. ROYCE. Reclaiming my time, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. ROYCE. Reclaiming my time, there are some additional pieces of legislation that I think all of the Members of this body have an interest in that have passed over to the Senate that we would like to see the Senate take up. We are near the end of the year. I just think besides the stimulus bill, besides the energy bill, I should take a moment and mention the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act, the Made In America Information Act, the Maritime Policy Improvement Act, the Veterans Hospital Emergency Repair Act. We hope the Senate will take that up soon. The Small Business Interest Checking Act. Many of these bills passed out of the House in March and April of this year. We would like to see the Senate, before adjournment at the end of this year, pass out these bills. The Foster Care Promotion Act. The Small Business Liability Protection Act. I think I speak for many of us here when we say we think this is very important, especially in this environment we find ourselves in today. There is the 21st Century GI Bill Enhancement Act, which we passed out of the House in order to make it easier for our veterans upon returning to go to university. We would like to see the Senate take up that bill. There is our bill to extend automobile safety programs for children, our National Science Education Act that we passed out of this body in July. Our bill to make improvements in math and science education, we would like to see the Senate schedule that for floor action. Our Veterans Benefit Act that we passed out of the House of Representatives, we passed that out in July as well and there has been no Senate floor action. The Juvenile Crime Control and Delinquency Prevention Act, we passed that out of the floor here in September, and still no action by the Senate. There is the Homeless Veterans Assistance Act that we passed in October; the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act; the Bioterrorism Enforcement Act. These are all bills which we have passed out of the House. But today we are specifically focused on the stimulus package, because we are concerned about these reports of 800,000 Americans who have lost their jobs. We have passed out legislation. The President has asked for that legislation to reach his desk. Mr. Speaker, I would like yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico.

Mr. ROYCE. Reclaiming my time, I would like to yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) for his observations.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth).

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, if I could reclaim my time for a moment, I think extending those credits and ensuring that there is participation in those programs is so important. We have seen a reduction over the last few years of 40 percent in the welfare caseload. Part of that has been legislation that has ensured welfare to work, and part of this legislation will ensure the cooperation of businesses in assisting in that effort.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, the gentleman talked about acting expeditiously. I would just like to quote President Bush on that issue. He was asked last week, and he said, ``You know, the terrorists attacked us, but they did not diminish our spirit, nor did they undermine the fundamentals of our economy, and we believe if we act expeditiously, that those fundamentals will kick back in and people will be able to find work again.'' The subject we are focused on tonight is taking action expeditiously, moving quickly. Our hope is as we again bring a stimulus bill tomorrow before this House of Representatives, that the Senate will take action as well. I am going to yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico.

Mr. ROYCE. I am going to yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. ROYCE. I am going to yield to the gentleman from Arizona.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) for the balance of the time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I think we did see that the Kennedy tax reduction spurred an economic growth rate of between 4 and 5 percent. When President Reagan reduced the effective tax rate and when Congress reduced that rate in response to his plan, the economic growth rate was over 4 percent a year. What we are talking about in this bill that the President has put forward is a compromise measure that will provide tax rebate payments of up to $600 to low-income families who are struggling to make ends meet; it would lower the 27 percent tax rate to 25 percent that would affect 36 million hard-working taxpayers and give them relief. This compromise measure would help small business by allowing them to deduct 30 percent of the cost of new investments over the next 3 years. That would put a lot of money into purchasing new equipment in order to keep those jobs in manufacturing going. And then, it provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment assistance for workers who have been laid off since the recession began, and $4 billion in Federal aid for benefits for those who are part-time workers. That goes to the States to help them with their program. Lastly, it helps unemployed workers keep their health insurance by providing an innovative new tax credit worth $3,500 a year, and workers would be able to keep their health insurance. As the gentlewoman from New Mexico mentioned, whether or not they have COBRA, they would be allowed to keep their health insurance with that plan. So it is a balanced proposal. It also has some compromises in it in order to make certain that it addresses the Alternative Minimum Tax, and I think that with that compromise, when we bring it up tomorrow and pass that out to the Senate, our hope is that the Senate will act quickly. Let me yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, if I could ask the gentlewoman, how successful have those welfare to work programs that this Congress passed, how successful have they been?

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I will yield to gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) for her good work on this bill, and I thank all of my colleagues for participating in this Special Order.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), for introducing this very important piece of legislation of which I am a cosponsor. And I would like to make the observation that this relationship that the United States has with the Philippines is based on a shared history and a shared commitment to democratic principals. The political and economic importance of the Philippines to this Nation cannot be overstated, and I think it is true that the United States, the people here, owe a great debt to the people of the Philippines for their assistance during the Second World War. And I think as this resolution points out, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the mutual defense treaty which outlined a military alliance between these two countries; and this alliance has proved to be for us instrumental in deterring aggression in Asia. Security in Asia is as key to us today as it was 50 years ago when this treaty was signed. And I am particularly concerned, as I know are the other Members of this bodies, with the actions of Abu Sayaff, with the terrorist group now operating in the Philippines. This group has been linked to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda networks. The group has trained in the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, those same camps that we recently flushed out. And the group has been engaged in bombing, in arson, in kidnapping, including the kidnapping of American citizens. Once again, I would like to applaud the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher). He represents, as do I, a significant Filipino American community in California; and he is very committed to strengthening the U.S.-Philippine ties. And this resolution sends a strong message of support for the Philippine Government in its effort to prevent and suppress terrorism and pledges U.S. support for that effort.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, as Members of Congress, we all receive numerous honors every year. But having someone named after you is truly a special honor. There is a young boy named Eric Royce Bates out in California. What makes it so special is that his grandmother is my chief of staff, Joan Bates Korich, who has announced her retirement. Joni has worked for me for 19 years, starting in the California State Senate in 1982. I came to Sacramento as a young State Senator at the age of 31. I knew what I believed and I knew what my goals were. What I did not know was how to go about accomplishing those goals. That is where Joni came in. She helped me learn how to turn ideas into accomplishments. She taught me that friendships can transcend politics and that just because you may disagree with someone, that that does not make them your enemy. She is the ultimate professional who takes her work seriously but never loses her sense of humor. Thanks to Joni's leadership, our office is known for civility and professionalism. Our constituents in California have benefited tremendously from the unique care and interest she has demonstrated over the years. She has also proven time and time again how much she cares about every member of our staff. To this day, interns and young staff members who worked with us in Sacramento many years ago still call Joni to ask for advice, or just to tell her how their family is doing. I still do not know how I managed to convince her and her husband Kim to leave her children and grandchildren and come with me to Washington when I was elected to Congress in 1992, but whatever I said, it was one of the best speeches I ever made. In just over a month, Joni will return to her home in Sacramento and to her three children and eight grandchildren, including Eric Royce Bates. For Joni, there is nothing more important than family. I just consider myself fortunate to have been part of her extended family for the past 19 years. I will miss her very much as will every member of my staff. Thank you, Joni, for all you did for me. You will be 3,000 miles away, but you will never be forgotten by me or by anyone who has had the good fortune to work with you.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I think that it is indeed proper that the many achievements of George P. Shultz be recognized by the naming of this new National Foreign Affairs Training Center after Mr. Shultz. As well as commending the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for the gentleman's efforts, I also commend the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for the bill that he brought up prior to this measure, and take a moment, if I could, to speak about the importance of commemorating the 50th anniversary of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. I think it is important that we remember within 10 minutes of the establishment of Radio Free Europe, the Soviets were already attempting in 1951 to jamb those broadcasts, and yet those broadcasts got through. What Joseph Stalin was afraid of was what was being told over the air waves. He was afraid of the truth; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty developed a rather unique form of international broadcasting. We call that today surrogate radio, airing local news about the countries to which they broadcast, operating as if they had a free and vibrant press. During the Cold War, these radios brought the news of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, the Prague uprising of 1968, and most importantly, the rise of the solidarity movement in Poland. And when we talk with the leaders of the Czech Republic or Poland, they say that the hearts and minds of people were turned by the opportunity to listen every day to a radio broadcast which explained what was actually happening inside their country. These broadcasts were able to explain and to put into context what people were hearing from the Soviet broadcasts, and over time we know that this was the most effective single thing that changed the attitudes of the average person in Eastern Europe, we know that from the leaders of these countries today. They were critical in contributing to the collapse of communism, the collapse of the totalitarian governments of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. And besides its outstanding impact behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, the radios also aided in Afghanistan from 1985-1993 during the Soviet invasion. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty still continues to tell the truth, countering dictators like Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein has long complained that Radio Free Iraq is, in his words, an act of aggression. The Iraqi dictator has become so irked by his attempt to undermine his control over the media that Saddam Hussein instructed his intelligence officials, and apparently recently there has been a plot uncovered by Iraq to bomb Radio Free Europe's headquarters in Prague. Last month this House passed legislation authored by myself and the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) to re-create Radio Free Afghanistan by a margin of 405 to two. The Taliban is on its way out; but if Afghanistan is to have a chance of becoming stable, if its various factions and ethnic groups are to strike a workable governing accord, the country will need free-flowing, accurate news information. Unfortunately, the country is starting from scratch. What media the Taliban did not corrupt, it destroyed. Looking ahead at the great challenges Afghanistan faces, it is clear to those that are on the ground that a credible and effective media will not emerge any time soon. This legislation will provide for 12 hours of broadcasting a day in the two major dialects of Afghanistan, and that is vital to the peace and stability in that country. The bill awaits action by the other body. Radio Free Europe has been heard by individuals with a message of hope and freedom for the past 50 years, and I commend Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty on their anniversary. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak on behalf of the measure of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), and also speak on the appropriate resolution today for a very distinguished American, George P. Shultz, and to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for bringing that resolution to the floor.

Mr. ROYCE

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in closing, what a depressing contrast between Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and South Africa's Nelson Mandela. President Mandela prized democracy. He prized the rule of law. He stepped down from power when people were telling him he was a king. He brought races together. And we contrast that with the situation where President Mugabe threatens his political opponents with death. What we have in Zimbabwe is a man who sends his operatives to terrorize teachers, to terrorize teachers because they are the poll guards basically, they are the individuals who do the monitoring of the elections; to terrorize the doctors, and to terrorize others working for a better future. A recent Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference Pastoral letter noted, ``Violence, intimidation, and threats are the tools of failed politicians.'' They are the dastardly tools of the men now ruling Zimbabwe. The political opposition in Zimbabwe deserves credit for remaining peaceful in the face of violence. For years now, its members have been beaten, they have been tortured, they have been killed; and they have resisted going on an offensive throughout this. Their discipline will be further tested in the coming months as the Mugabe regime provokes unrest to legitimize canceling the elections. I hope that the political opposition remain steadfastly committed to nonviolence. I have great confidence in the brave Zimbabweans who are struggling against tyranny so that their country can begin to reach its potential. The legislation we are considering today lays a foundation for the U.S. to contribute to that future, and I ask that my colleagues support Senate bill 494.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cooksey).

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake).

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the Committee on International Relations, and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley), the chairman of the Committee on Financial Services, for moving this important legislation. I would also like to express my appreciation to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member of the Committee on International Relations, and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa that I chair, for their support of this bill. With elections approaching in Zimbabwe, and the conditions on the ground deteriorating, it is important that we pass the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 before this Congress adjourns. In Zimbabwe we are sadly seeing a dictator there literally burning his country down. I feel that he is very desperate there to keep his perks and avoid accountability for his crimes. As a consequence of that, he has sanctioned utter anarchy in his homeland in an attempt to win an election that he has been pressured by Zimbabweans into holding. I think that if he had his way, Mr. Mugabe would undoubtedly run Zimbabwe as a one-party State as he did run it during the 1980s, but Mugabe has spared no means in his attempt to suppress democratic expression in Zimbabwe. His ZANU-PF Party thugs have employed murder, mass beatings, systematic torture, gang rape, house burning, death threats, and every type of police brutality. And while Zimbabwe police are quick to crack down on peaceful political protests, violent ZANU-PF operatives are rarely brought to justice. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group has observed that it is ``outraged by the continued brutality, lack of respect for fundamental human rights and political partisanship of the Zimbabwe Republic Police.'' Offices of the political opposition there are routinely fire-bombed. Dozens of political opponents have been murdered in State-sanctioned violence, yet Mr. Mugabe does not speak out against those doing the violence. Instead, President Mugabe calls the peaceful political opposition ``terrorists'' and vows to crush them. For Zimbabweans, it is a sad irony that the Mugabe Government represses political opponents with the same Law and Order Maintenance Act which Ian Smith's Rhodesian repressive government pioneered to prevent majority rule there. Having led a congressional delegation to Saudi Arabia some years back, I saw then the climate of fear the Zimbabwe Government long ago created. This legislation provides reasonable guidelines for U.S. engagement with Zimbabwe. It expresses the United States' interest in assisting the Zimbabwean people with economic development; and it provides funding for such efforts, but only when the climate is right, that is, when the rule of law has been established and when free and fair elections are possible. We must be realistic, though. The prospects are increasingly remote that the presidential elections, which must be held by March, will be free and fair. The U.S.-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems has been chased from the country. The government rejected a call by the European Union to allow for election monitors. While it recently relented on its decision, it is likely to reverse course. The government is likely to again prohibit those observers from coming in for the elections. I was scheduled to lead an election observation team for the 2000 parliamentary elections there, but the Zimbabwean Government pulled the visas at the last minute. A U.S. District Court judge in New York recently ruled that Zimbabwe's governing political party, ZANU-PF, was liable for murdering and torturing its political opponents in the run-up to those elections. The court found that ZANU-PF, in its organized violence and methodological terror, worked in tandem with Zimbabwean Government officials. That was in the year 2000. The current Mugabe Government has never changed its modus operandi. Mugabe is doing all that he can to see that the world is not watching him. The Washington Post and the New York Times reporters have been denied visas to cover the chaos there. The BBC was booted out in July. Foreign journalists are routinely harassed and intimidated. It is Zimbabwean journalists, though, that have borne the brunt of it. Newspaper offices have been bombed. Against this, we have seen many profiles in courage. Jeff Nyarota, editor of the Daily News, Zimbabwe's only independent newspaper, recently won the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists Press Freedom Award for his courageous work uncovering government corruption. I am certain that this legislation is a morale boost to brave Zimbabwean journalists who fear that the world ignores them. Let me just say a word about the economy there. Predictably, the Zimbabwean economy is now in ruins. With farmland under government siege, half a million Zimbabweans face starvation in a country that traditionally produces enough food to export. The current government is oblivious to the suffering of the people there. ZANU-PF leadership, though, is not hurting. The U.N. recently reported how Zimbabwean troops are clear-cutting invaluable forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and proceeds from this environmental crime assuredly are going to supporting the luxurious lifestyle of Zimbabwe's ruling elite. This legislation, importantly, asks the administration to begin a process of identifying the assets of those involved, those military personnel involved in just that effort, and to impose personal economic sanctions against them for breaking down the rule of law in Zimbabwe. It does not affect trade, however. This legislation provides aid for lawful and transparent land resettlement, and I believe that this will have to come after there is a new government. We should not lose sight of the fact that President Mugabe has created the current land crisis. He has sanctioned the violent land invasions and the murders of Zimbabweans, black and white, precisely because it serves his political interests. That is why many attempts by the international community to aid a lawful land reform program have gone for naught. The latest attempt, the Abuja Agreement, has fallen apart, with the Mugabe Government intensifying farm invasions and violence. President Mugabe's land reform program has been to take land and give it to the generals and to give it to his political associates. Recent reports have him now giving land to Libyan business partners. The Mugabe Government has shown little interest in the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe, and that is why we need to move this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record an exchange of letters between the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Oxley) of the Committee on Financial Services and Chairman Hyde concerning the Senate bill, S. 494: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC, November 30, 2001. Hon. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman, Committee on International Relations, Washington,

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 494.